James's Liberty file collection index

This is a collection of files related to liberty, the right to
bear arms, and the like. It contains mostly ancient philosophy
rather than fast breaking news. The issues discussed here have
been discussed for centuries or millennia, and the newest facts
and newest arguments on these issues are mostly few decades
old

An explanation of natural law and natural rights. Most of
the old literature on natural law and natural rights, notably
the writings of John Locke, has become incomprehensible because
we no longer have the background knowledge of natural law that
those writers assumed.
This article makes the concept of natural law intelligible to
modern people.

John Locke argues that religious persecution is not caused by
differing concepts of the good, but by simple old fashioned
evil – one group seeks power and wealth by using organized
violence to rob and subjugate another group, same as any
other group conflict. (1689) (Big file, 118,316 bytes)

“If anyone maintain that men ought to be compelled by
fire and sword to profess certain doctrines [...] it cannot
be doubted indeed but such a one is desirous to have a
numerous assembly joined in the same profession with
himself; but that he principally intends by those means to
compose a truly Christian Church is altogether
incredible.”

Charles Darwin argues that a social animal must inevitably
develop a moral sense, as it develops intelligence.

Sir B. Brodie, after observing that man is a social
animal (Psychological Inquiries, 1854, p. 192), asks the
pregnant question, “Ought not this to settle the disputed
question as to the existence of a moral sense?” Similar
ideas have probably occurred to many persons, as they did
long ago to Marcus Aurelius.

by Frederick Bastiat
A vigorous defense of the rule of law, and a demonstration
that socialism must inevitably become communism. (1850)

“What, then, is law? It is the collective organization
of the individual right to lawful defense.

Each of us has a natural right [...] to defend his
person, his liberty, and his property. [...]

[...] Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully use
force against the person, liberty, or property of another
individual, then the common force – for the same reason –
cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, liberty, or
property of individuals or groups.”

Bastiat exposes numerous economic fallacies that are still
widely argued today, that automation and layoffs are bad,
that government spending is good for business, that
protectionism benefits the economy, and so forth. This
contains the famous and often quoted “Fallacy of the Broken
Window”, the fallacy still so often used to justify
destructive and hurtful government policies.

we must assent to a maxim which will make the hair of
protectionists stand on end -To break, to spoil, to waste,
is not to encourage national labor; nor, more briefly,
“destruction is not profit.”

In the United States since 1950 average growth during high
tax periods was 1.08%, average growth during normal times was
2.45%. Every high tax period was a long period of economic
stagnation, malaise, or decline or else contained a long period
of decline. Such events were rare during normal tax periods.
“Voodoo economics” works in the sense that tax cuts are apt to
produce a substantial rise in government revenues after a
little while.

Had this declaration been observed, France would have had a
constitution like Americas early constitution, based on popular
sovereignty limited by natural law and natural rights. Instead
they wound up with a constitution based on the limitless and
absolute majoritarian popular sovereignty of Rousseau, leading
inevitably to the great terror.

The Magna Carta defined the rights of nobles in 1215. These
rights were soon asserted by the middle class, then by all free
men. In 1557 the King restrained the nobles from infringing on
the right of serfs to keep and bear armor piercing weapons. Who
today will protect our rights to such weapons?

By Lysander Spooner. Argues that the Federal Government was
not entirely legitimate after the revolution, and became
seriously unlawful when it gave itself vastly greater powers
during and after the civil war.

In 1849, Gustav de Molinari argued on economic grounds for
“Free Government” and “Free Self Defense”, by which he meant
“free” as in “free speech” — the right of any individual or
group to see to their own government and their own self
defense